L.T. Extraction works Mariana Lake Project, one of our most prominent and productive sites, is situated on a rich lithium brine deposit in Salar de Llullaillaco in Argentina’s northwestern province of Salta. The region, in the Lithium Triangle, is known around the world, and is the origin of 30% of brine-derived lithium in global trade today.
This project is located in a region with extremely low levels of precipitation and high rates of evaporation– some of the lowest and highest in the world respectively. Together, these environmental characteristics make the region’s solar lithium concentration process exceedingly efficient.
Through extrapolated data from extensive site evaluations and analysis, L.T. Extraction works has estimated that there are around 4.5 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent in the Mariana Lake Project, with an inferred resource of over 790,000 tons. Based on these figures, this lithium deposit is among the largest in the world.
With railway infrastructure and accompanying industrial service to the Chilean port of Antofagasta, which is only a few hundred kilometers away from the site, the Mariana Lake Project has a uniquely efficient facilitation of both extraction and supply of lithium to global clients and processing facilities. Currently, there are no competing projects in this particular basin area for lithium brine resources, and we are seeking to expand operations and secure the permits which will allow us to do so.
With the sole mining rights to a significant area, we are in the process of surveying an area of 56,000 acres around our existing Mariana Lake Project operations, attempting to identify how to maximize productivity and take advantage of the most economically extractable resources.
Beginning operations in 2016, the project is expected to have a lifespan of between 20 and 25 years, with a predicted peak lithium carbonate production of 14,000 tons annually (depending on expansion). In the past 4 years, average production at the site has been around 8,500 tons, but with slated expansion of operations at the site (dependent on securing the required permits and positive ground analysis), we envisage a rapid increase in capacity and production of lithium derived from brine.
Location
Our Mariana Lake Project is situated near the Chilean border, straddling the Salta-Antofagasta railway line. Located in a renowned mining district in the northern Salta province in Argentina, with copper and gold projects close by, it has established supply and distribution infrastructure, allowing for the sustainable and reliable transportation of mined materials.
Lithium Estimates
The Mariana Lake Project is estimated, through in-depth ground analysis and extrapolated data, to be situated on more than 2,600 gigalitres of brine, which is estimated to contain 4.45 million tons of lithium carbonate equivalent.
We are committed to economical extraction while meeting the ever growing demand for lithium
Currently, Argentina is home to the third-largest reserves of lithium, with an estimated 45% to 50% of the reserves, importantly, economically extractable